Device for feeding articles into cartons



March 29, 1960 PETTEE ETAL 2,930,172

DEVICE FOR FEEDING ARTICLES INTO CARTONS 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

Filed March 17, 1955 INVENTORS. arr: H7115 March 29, 1960' H. PETTEEEI'AL DEVICE FOR FEEDING ARTICLES INTO CARTONS Filed March 17, 1955 2Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TORS.

I lie-4 554 1- Massmarrs Psrrsf ?Emwnfor M 8,9565

ATTOENEYs,

United States v 1 ter & Gamble Company, fion of Ohio ApplicationMarch U,1955, Serial No. 495,013 13 Claims. :(Cl. Sis-@124) Cincinnati, "Ohio,and Rein- Wis., 'assignors to The Proc- This invention is directedprimarily to the introduction into cartons of articles which may be ofnon-uniform size or are soft and compressible, tending in theiruncompressed state to be larger in one direction at least than thecorresponding cross-sectional dimension of the "cartons. The cartons maybe designed to accept these articles for shipment as such, or thearticles may be of the nature of packaged premiums for insertion intoempty cartons which are then to be filled with flakes or granules ofsoap, cereal, or the like. Although the invention is .not so limited, itwill be described in connection with the insertion of premiums into soapgranule cartons.

In prior machines for this purpose, the premiums are brought to apick-off point with their longitudinal axes ,parallel to the travel of aflexible member, such as a chain, equipped with blocks or abutments tocarry the premiums along a path parallel to the path of the emptycartons. The premiums are pushed along a slide above :the cartons, andat the point where insertion is desired, the slide terminates andapremiurn drops into each carton. Such an arrangement is generallysatisfactory for premiums or other articles which are of uniform size orare encased in a package of uniform size. But the arrangement is notsatisfactory for handling objects which cannot be depended upon to fallinto a proper position in the carton Without guides, nor vis itsatisfactory for objects of a flexible and compressible nature whichmust be compressed in order to be caused to enter the cartons. Anexample of such flexible and compressible premiums embraces wash clothsencased in a bag.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide mechanism suitablefor the handling of flexible and compressible articles and the insertionthereof in cartons even when the articles are of very lightweight.

It is an object of the invention to provide a mechanism serving to feedinto cartons compressible articles which must be introduced in thecompressed condition.

It is an object of the invention to provide a feeder which willaccurately deposit flexible and compressible articles in cartons withassurance that these articles will attain a final desired positiontherein.

- It is an object of the invention to provide a mechanism for theattainment of the foregoing objects, which mechanism is simple toconstruct, economical, and positive in operation.

These and other objects of the invention, which will be set forthhereinafter, or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon readingthese specifications, are accom .plished by that construction and.arrangement of parts, of which an exemplary embodiment willunow bedescribed. Reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein: i v

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the essential parts of the apparatus.

V Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken along thesection lines 2-2 of Fig. l.

vFig. 3 is a-partial transverse vertica-Ls'ection taken along the line3-3 'ofFig. -2

Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporaat ertt ice Patented a-Mar.'"i29,:- 1960 theskill of the worker in the art to provide drives with suitable timing inthe light of the teachings herein. The machine elements disclosed andhereinatterde'scribed may bra-considered as part of a carton settingup,vfilling, and closing machine (not shown).

Referring to Fig. 1, the articles orv premiums 5 are shown approachingthe mechanism in an assembly on a lateral table 6 between the sideguides '7 and 8. The assembly of the articles 5 -is urged in thedirection of the arrow by any suitable means .(not shown), Ii.e. by aresilient pusher or by conveyor belts moving around the guides 7 and 8and engaging the ends-of the packages. The foremost one 5:: is thusbrought onto a longitudinal table 9 against a side guide 10. On thelongitudinal table, the article is engaged and caused to move forwardlyby a vane 11 on a longitudinal chain conveyor 12. The chain or chains ofthis conveyor return at each end over sprockets indicated at 13 and 14.These sprockets are on vertical shafts at least one of which is driven,as hereinafter explained. v

To the left of the table 6 on'the side opposite the guide 10 there is anadjustable guiding "and compressing means 15 designed to bring thearticles as they move along the longitudinal table 9 behind aside guide16 so that the articles will be confined on both sides prior to theirintroduction into the cartons.

A second longitudinal conveyor '17 with spaced vanes 13 is set up toparallel a portion of the length of the conveyor 12. The chains of thissecond conveyor return over sprockets 1-9 and 20, and drive isaccomplished as hereinafter set forth.

The vanes 11 on the first conveyor are shown as spaced apart a distancegreater than the uncompressed length of the packages 5a. The conveyor12, can,of course, be driven, nevertheless, at such a speed as todeliver a package to a loading point in timed relationship with "acarton reaching the same point. Conveyor 17 operates in such fashionthat its vanes turn in behind the vanes 11 of the conveyor 12. Now, ifconveyor 17 be driven somewhat more slowlythan conveyor 12, it will beclear, as shown in Fig. 1, that the vanes 11 will tend to catch up onthe vanes 13, the net result being an endwise compression of thearticles 5a by the time they reach an unloading point. In Fig. 11 thelongiudtinal table 9 is shown terminating at the point 9a. A premium orarticle 55 is shown as carried beyond the end of the'table to anunloading position.

it of conveyor 12 and one of the vanes I8 of conveyor 17. The article iscompressed and'therefore held at the unloading point between these twovanes, and thus maintains its position even though the table 9 hasceased to support it. When the article is in the position 5b in Fig. 1,it is positively inserted into a carton, without relief of thecompression, by means hereinafter described.

There are variousways in which the conveyors '12 and 17 may be timed.Either the conveyor 12 or the conveyor 17 can be so timed that its vanesmove at the speed of movement of the cartons into which the premiumswill be loaded. If the conveyor 12'm'oves synchronously Lat cartonspeed, the conveyor 11 will'be driven more slowly so as to exert therequired compressive action. If, on the other hand, conveyor 17 issynchronized with carton travel, conveyor lzmust move at a slightly fa'sters'pe'ed It is carried beyond the end i of the table by thecombined action of one of the vanes,

result, however, will be the delivery of an article or premium to theunloading point indicated at b for each carton synchronously with thearrival of the carton at the same point, the article being in theaforesaid compressed condition. The coaction ofthe two conveyors 12 and17 is made to be a continuous operation by an appropriate spacing of thevanes on the two conveyors. For any given operation, the speed ratiowill be fixed. Therefore, the vanes 18 may be so spaced on the conveyor17 with reference to the spacing of the vanes 11 on the conveyor 12 thateach of the vanes 18 will turn in behind a vane 11 as indicated. Thelength of the conveyors 12 and 17 will be apportioned to the spacings ofthe vanes, as will be readily understood. For example, the spacing ofseven of the vanes 18 on the conveyor 17 may occupy the same lineardistance as the spacing of eight vanes on the conveyor 12. Other ratiosmay, of course, be chosen, and the conveyor speeds adjusted accordingly.

It is most clearly shown in Fig. 2 that the cartons 21 are moved throughthe machine on a conveyor 22. The cartons are in erected or squared-upform with their lower ends closed and their upper ends open, as shown.They are spaced on the conveyor 22 by blocks 23 forming part thereof,and are confined between side guides, one of which is shown at 24. Therelative timing of the conveyor 22 is such that a carton 21b will arrivecoincidentally with the packaged premium 5b at the unloading point.

It has already been explained that at this point the compressed premiumwill be retained between a vane 11 and a vane 18 frictionally; and thevanes are of such size that they extend downwardly to approach thetopmost portions of the carton. At this point the article is ejecteddownwardly from between the vanes and introduced into the carton by amechanical pushing device traveling at the same speed as the carton andthe article. A pair of chains 25 and 26 is journaled on sprockets 27 and28 on vertical shafts 29 and 30 above the level of the conveyors 12 and17. At suitable intervals bracket members 31 are fastened to the chainsin vertical position. These bracket members carry vertical rods 32, orother suitable forms of slides on which sliding members 33 are engaged.Vertically movable pushing devices 34 having feet 35 are fastened to thesliding members 33. Each sliding member 33 has a finger 36 extendingrearwardly through a vertical slot 37 in the bracket 31. The fingerbears a cam roller 38; and a cam track 39 of suitable shape is fastenedto the framework of the machine. This cam track is shown as terminatingat a high level substantially at the unloading point, as at 40. At thispoint the cam releases the sliding member 33, and this member and theattached pushing device 34 are free to fall rapidly by gravity, causingthe foot 35 to push the article 5b into the carton 2112. It is alsoWithin the purview of the invention to make the cam track continuous,and control the speed of descent of the pushing device by the slope ofthe cam track at the unloading point.

It has been found of advantage to equip the foot 35 with a pair ofspaced needle-like points 41. These needlelike points are polished, andperforate the bag of the article and penetrate the premium within,making for a more positive engagement and tending to prevent theimmediate re-expansion of the compressed article.

By increasing the spacing of the chains 25 and 26 and elongating thebrackets 31 and pusher members 34, the apparatus can be arranged, ifdesired, to deliver the article to the very bottom of each carton. Afterthe delivering operation, the sliding member 33 is picked up by theopposite lower end 42 of the cam track 39, and the pusher is raised. Therate of rise can be varied by the slope of the cam track. The pusherfoot 35 disengages the delivered article and leaves it in the bottom ofthe carton.

Figs. 3 and 4 are illustrative of the nature of the vanes 11 and 18. Asshown -in Fig. 3, the vane 11 is slotted vertically, as at 43, to acceptthe side guide 10. It is also slotted laterally, as at 44, to accept thelongitudinal table 9. As shown in Fig. 4, the vane 18 on the conveyor 17is slotted vertically, as at 44, to accept the side guide 16 andlaterally, as at 45, to accept the table 9.

Modifications may be made in the invention without departing from thespirit of it. The invention having been described in an exemplaryembodiment, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by LettersPatent is:

1..In a device for feeding compressible articles into cartons, a table,means for causing said articles to move along said table in timedsequence, said means comprising a conveyor with vanes overlying thetable, a second conveyor with vanes interdigitating with the vanes ofthe first mentioned conveyor, said vanes traveling at a differenteffective speed so that each article moved along said table is engagedand compressed between vanes of the two conveyors so as to be moved offan end of said table to a discharge position at which said article isheld in compressed condition between said two vanes, means for bringingan open carton to said discharge position, and means at said position topush said article from between said vanes into said carton.

2. The structure claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for bringing thecarton to the discharge position comprises a conveyor below said tablesubstantially parallel to said first mentioned conveyors, the severalconveyors acting to bring cartons and compressed packages to the saiddischarge position serially in timed relationship, and in which themeans for pushing said articles from between said vanes is a pushingmeans traveling in the direction of the cartons and articles at thedischarge position in the same direction.

3. The structure claimed in claim 2, wherein the pushing means comprisesa series of brackets mounted on a conveyor having a fiight parallelingthe direction of movement of the articles and cartons at the dischargeposition, said brackets providing ways, and cam controlled slidesmounted on said ways, said pushing means being mounted on said camcontrolled slides.

4. The structure claimed in claim 3, wherein each pushing means carriesa pair of spaced needle-like elements extending beyond the pushingsurface thereof and adapted to penetrate the compressed article at thedischarge position so as to maintain engagement therewith and to preventundue loss of compression as the article is displaced from between saidvanes.

5. In apparatus of the character described, a lateral table on whichcompressible articles move in side-by-side relationship, a longitudinaltable at the end of said lateral table on which said articles are causedto move in endwise spaced relationship, a conveyor having vanesoverlying said longitudinal table for moving said articles therealong, asecond conveyor having vanes positioned to turn in behind the vanes ofthe first conveyor, said second conveyor being driven at a slower speedwhereby as said articles are moved along said table by the vanes of thefirst conveyor, they are brought against and ultimately compressedagainst the vanes of the second conveyor, until said articles incompressed condition are carried off the end of said longitudinalconveyor and held in compressed condition between the coacting vanes ofthe said conveyor, and means for discharging said compressed articlesthereat by pushing them from between said vanes.

6. The structure claimed in claim 5, wherein said conveyors are endlessconveyors adapted to operate continuously in spite of the saiddifierence in speed by proportioning the distance between the vanes onthe several conveyors in accordance with their linear speeds.

7. A machine for feeding compressible articles into cartons, comprisinga conveyor for continuously moving said cartons, a slide having guides,means for picking off articles in succession and moving them along saidslide, means for slowly compressing said compressible articles whilemoving on said slide, and means for pushing said compressible articlesfrom between the said compres sion means, said pushing means having a.foot from the pushing surface of which sharpened pins project andpenetrate said compressible articles whereby said articles are guidedinto said cartons, said pins being of such size and polish that theywill withdraw from the compressed article in the carton as the pushingmeans are withdrawn.

8. A machine for feeding compressible articles into cartons, comprisinga conveyor for continuously moving said articles, a slide substantiallyparalleling said conveyor, means for depositing articles in successionon said slide, continuous motion moving means engaging rear portions ofsaid articles for moving them along said slide in timed relation to saidcartons, additional continuous motion moving means engaging forwardportions of said articles for progressively compressing them in thedirection parallel to their movement and against said first mentionedmoving means, and means for pushing said compressed articles frombetween said moving means into said cartons.

9. In a machine for the purpose described, a conveyor for continuouslymoving a succession of open cartons, a slide located above said conveyorand terminating intermediate the ends thereof, a chain having vanesmoving over said slide, means for delivering compressible articles insuccession to safd slide so as to be engaged by said vanes and movedtherealong, a second chain having vanes interdigitating with the vanesof said first mentioned chain, means for driving said chains so thateach article becomes engaged between a vane of each chain andprogressively compressed during its movement along said slide, beingretained between said vanes off the end of said slide, the movement ofsuch article being timed in relation to the movement of a carton toreceive it, and pushing means for introducing the compressed articleinto the carton and comprising chains moving with said first mentionedchains and carrying brackets, plungers mounted on said brackets formovement transverse the movement of said chains, and means for actuatingsaid plungers to push said articles from between said vanes.

10. A machine for feeding compressible articles into cartons, comprisinga conveyor for continuously moving said cartons, a slide having sideguides for preventing lateral deflection of said articles, said slidelocated above and substantially paralleling said conveyor andterminating intermediate the ends thereof, means for depositing saidarticles in succession on said slide, moving means comprising vanes on amoving member engaging rear portions of said articles for moving themalong said slide in timed relation to said cartons, additional movingmeans comprising vanes on a moving member engaging forward portions ofsaid articles for progressivelycompressing them in the direction oftheir movement against said first mentioned moving means, said movingmembers being detimed with respect to one another whereby to exertcompressive action on said articles while moving them to an unloadingpoint in timed relation to said cartons, said articles being retainedbetween said moving means beyond the end of said slide by friction dueto said compression, and means for pushing said compressed articlesdownwardly from between said 'moving means into said cartons, said meansfor pushing comprising plungers traveling with said compressed articles,said plungers also having movement transverse the direction of motion ofsaid compressed articles.

11. A machine for feeding compressible articles into cartons, comprisinga conveyor for continuously moving v said cartons, a slide substantiallyparalleling said conveyor, means for depositing articles in successionon said slide, moving means comprising vanes on a moving member engagingrear portions of said articles for moving them along said slide in timedrelation to said cartons, additional moving means comprising vanes on amoving member engaging forward portions of said articles forprogressively compressing them in the direction parallel to theirmovement and against said first mentioned moving means, said movingmembers being detimed with respect to each other whereby to exert saidcompressive action while moving said articles to an unloading point intimed relation to said cartons, and means for pushing said compressedarticles from between said moving means and into said cartons.

12. The structure claimed in claim 11 in which said slide has sideguides for preventing lateral deflection of said articles.

13. The structure claimed in claim 12, in which said means for pushingcomprises plungers traveling with said compressed articles and alsohaving movement transverse the direction of motion of said compressedarticles. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

